Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said that some people in the Centre had the same “arrogance as the Mughals did”, and are not allowing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to work.
Invoking Maharana Pratap on his 478th birth anniversary, Mr. Sisodia said the Delhi government was working to provide health, education and other facilities to the common man, “much like the warrior Rajput king tried to give all facilities to the poor in his state”.
Mr. Sisodia was speaking at the unveiling of a statue of Maharana Pratap at Kashmere Gate ISBT.
‘Same fight’
“But a cruel ruler in Delhi used to ask him [Maharana Pratap] to leave. The fight is the same now. Recent incidents remind me of the Mughal rule,” Mr. Sisodia said, adding that the AAP government was trying to abolish the role of middlemen in bringing ration to the doorsteps of the people but the efforts were being thwarted by the Centre.
Maharana Pratap fought a war with the Mughals, under Emperor Akbar, after he refused to accept their suzerainty.
Speaking on the recent controversy over the AAP government’s CCTV project, Mr. Sisodia said that Delhiites wanted Residents’ Welfare Associations to decide where CCTV cameras should be installed, “but hurdles are being created”.
Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal recently directed that a committee be formed to look into the implementation of the CCTV project and also suggest where the cameras can be installed.
The AAP government has strongly opposed the formation of the panel.
“The Mughals had arrogance, a few people in the Centre also have the same arrogance. They will not allow the common man to work... the same fight still continues today,” he said.
Mr. Sisodia said that those who used to “sit in the Red Fort [Mughals]” thought that they would always have power and harassed people “thinking that they would not raise their voice”.
“Voices against harassment were raised before and will continue to be raised,” he added.
